Weekending| Catching up

It's been quite a while since my last blog post, but there has been lots going on, so here's a bit of an update-I've been trying to ride as much as I can on Saturday and Sunday.  It's the only days I feel comfortable riding alongside traffic, but I have to get out early or people just aren't paying attention.  My typical route is 13-ish miles in about 90 minutes.  There are several intersections I have to stop at so that slows me down a bit.  My route includes some serious hills, so I feel like I'm getting a good workout.  My cool new Alaska cycling jersey has provided the perfect inspiration!  Since mid-September I've logged  79.8 cycling miles. 

 There has been a lot of college football games, both on TV and in person. 

I got to go to my first game at Death Valley to watch Clemson play Georgia Tech.   It was sooo wet and soggy, but I had a cool hat with a big a$$ pompom!  It was also fun spending time with Andrew.

We also scattered Roy's ashes on campus, and it was the perfect spot-in view of the Tech Tower and close to the stadium.  We decided the rose bushes would be a good spot as it seemed like an area that would be permanent rather than seasonal.  We were able to do this together and on what would have been Roy's 80th birthday which really made the experience special. 

There has been some serious eating.  We went to the Atlanta Ramen Noodle Fest which is an event that benefits The Giving Kitchen, this was a charity we picked for donations for PJ, so this was another opportunity to contribute to this great [and local] organization.  We had some really great ramen.  We also later we went to the Atlanta Kosher BBQ competition at Brooks Run Park.  We tasted some very good BBQ.  We love having things like this within walking distance from our apartment.

 There has also been some yummy homemade pasta-I'm getting quite spoiled with Andrew doing so much of the cooking.

I've been able to get together with my quilting friends from our old church twice.  We've had to get a little creative with our meet up dates.  This photo was taken at home, but these are the hexagons I've been working on since last year.  I hope to have the last few finished when we get together on Friday so that I can put the blocks together and quilt it before Christmas.  I have some small projects planned for the new year and I'm trying to keep things small and simple.  I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon knitting and having some lovely wine and yummy snacks, with Mary and Karen.  It was so nice getting together before the holidays get here.

 There's been a lot of knitting and the frogging of 3 sweaters.  I'm trying to empty my knitting basket before the end of the year so I can start 2018 with clean needles and fresh projects.  These green sweaters are for my cousin's daughter who had twin boys a couple weeks ago.  These were my travel knitting this summer so they traveled from Atlanta to Alaska and then made a trip to London!  What an adventure.  I also knitted a sweater for my friend Joyce's grandson using the same Antler Cardigan pattern in gray, as requested.

I've also completed a Sitka Spruce Hat and the mittens [1 mitten is soaking now] the pattern was so easy and I have enough yarn to do a cowl.  I had a total of 14 skeins of this yarn that my Mom gave me, so I've managed to get a stole, hat, mittens, and a cowl [soon].  That's some serious stash busting!

Our knitting guild hosted Marly Bird who taught classes and spoke at our guild meeting.  I took one of the classes on Saturday, and was fortunate enough to be Marly's driver from the class to her hotel and then to dinner.  We had a pot luck dinner in her honor, and someone brought this very fun (and good) bottle of wine!

 We had dinner in the hostess' sukkah-such a neat experience and some really delicious food.

 As if there wasn't enough on the calendar we saw the first show of the season with Stage Door Players- Dial M for Murder.  We have so enjoyed their productions, and look forward to another one in a couple weeks.

 Over the last few weeks I finally managed to finish the show Turn; which I thoroughly enjoyed and has inspired me to plan a visit to colonial sites in NY, Connecticut and New Jersey.  Steve, Andrew and I have already visited Boston, Concord and Lexington. I purchased the book the series is based on, and am really looking forward to reading it to compare it to the show.  I also managed to get caught up on Sherlock and Call the Midwife.  Now I am in the process of watching Luther which is another British show, so far it's really good.

I've also done some reading: The Paris Spy, News of the World, and Before We Were Yours these were just okay.  A lot of build up only to be let down at the end.  My Reading Life by Pat Conroy, The Underground Railroad, The Boys in the Boat were excellent.  I'm currently reading Fannie Flagg's The Whole Town's Taking, and so far it's turning out to be pretty funny.  I've requested our next book club book which isn't actually due to be discussed until January, but I want to go ahead and get my copy.  We're reading The Girl on Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See.  I'm hoping this is as good as her other books.  

I admired some very lovely trees in vibrant fall colors on my bike ride this morning, but stopping for photos proved to be not such a good idea.  This tree is at the back entrance to our complex so I made a point of getting a photo when I was finished riding.

Oh yea, I had to make a trip to the mall to return a couple dresses, and had to pick up something from the M-A-C store.  I also decided it was time to replace my Otter phone case cover, I love the blue which was not available when I bought the red one, but you can see I definitely need a very good and protective case!

I hope your weekends are allowing you to do the things you enjoy the most!